


Entrusted With My Control

by yanderekirklandchan



Category: Now You See Me (Movies)
Genre: ABDL, Age Play, Control Issues, Daddy Dylan, Daniel needs a hug, Depression, F/M, Fluff, Little Daniel - Freeform, M/M, Mentions of gender issues, Non-Sexual Age Play, OCD, Self Harm, Starts with angst ends with fluff, cute baby Danny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-21 14:23:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12459618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yanderekirklandchan/pseuds/yanderekirklandchan
Summary: After the show is over the five horsemen become restless. None more so than Daniel. Stressed and with nothing to distract him his fears and the responsibilities of control threatens to engulf Daniel. Until Dylan suggest a way of helping that is so preposterous and unlike anything Daniel has ever allowed himself in his life that it just might work.





	1. Building tension

Tensions had stared to rise once again in the temporary establishment of the horsemen. He rush of their London show and he thrill of finally meeting the Eye had started to wear down, so had the relief of all being safely together again, and they'd all started to get restless. Naturally so, they were all magicians after all, in life for the game, the trick, the wonder and admiration not for sitting around and planning. Each of the five dealt with it in their own way.

Dylan tirelessly occupied himself scoping world news and information, planning for what their next potential target to return might be and monitoring any threats to his beloved team's safety. He let himself be washed away by information and thoughts to not have to look to closely at his surroundings for fear of starting to get too restless and impatient therefore slip up.

Lula and Jack had started to explore the world of their relationship, thinking of new and exciting ways of experiencing each other and themselves. Neither wanted to admit to themselves let alone anyone else that it had started to get boring, had lost the spark. The loss of excitement made both feel far older than they had ever done before, which was something they'd much rather leave to old men like Merritt and Dylan.

Merritt had taken to privately extending his abilities, perfecting what he knew and learning more. For the first time since Dylan had revealed himself as the fourth horseman he had started to even slightly humour the idea of perhaps becoming a solo act again. Of course it was only mere musings, he didn't want to leave his new found family but still there was that seed planted in his mind.

Daniel was dealing with it possibly even worse than anyone else. He seemed like a powder keg ready to explode from a single spark and was like a catalyst to everyone else, triggering them indirectly. He was twitchier and more introverted than ever before, controlling every single thing in the house obsessively. Because 'no one else can do it right' he had taken on doing every single chore in the house, he never ate with the others although it was him who cooked and he didn't seem to sleep although he spent a lot of time confined to his room alone. Of course it was in actuality easy to empathise with his irritation and understand his stress over being worked too hard but the others weren't in their best mind set either and instead of consoling Danny pinned their own internal irritation and blame on him. It was probably the only thing that could unit them.

Of course with all increasing tensions, there was only so much that could be handled until a figurative, or in some cases literal, explosion.

The five horsemen were all strewn around the kitchen-dinning room of the safe house the Eye had provided them. Lula and Jack were sitting as far away from each other as possible, having fought the evening before and spending their first night alone since they'd become a couple. Merritt was getting slowly but surely pissed off by the self-pitying and whining he could read of everyone else in the room. Dylan was completely lost in his laptop, not taking any note at all of his friends in the room. Daniel was hovering, having just served them all breakfast but not making any move to sit down himself. He had spent quite a while attempting to make scrambled eggs, finishing then deciding they weren't right, throwing them away and starting again much to the irritation of the others who steadily became hungrier.

The four tucked in with disgruntled relief at the food finally making an appearance. They all, aside from Dylan who was still silently scrolling on his laptop, had soon become aware of Daniel's fidgety form watching them eat, eyes flickering between each person. "Will you quit it?" Jack snapped, causing the other three of the four horsemen to jump, Jack wasn't usually one to snap. "Yeah, will you cut it out, Danny? Sit down and eat or go, stop hovering." Lula agreed, her own irritation bubbling over.

Danny's eyes stopped flickering between them and instead fixed on one hurt, puppy dog look at them all which made them feel guilty which made them angrier. "Don't look like that, the kids were just pointing out the truth. You're normally a dick but this isn't that it's just plain freaky." Merritt huffed. Dylan had looked up from his laptop at some point in the whole encounter and had flipped the lid down, watching the events unfold cautiously.

Daniel's sad gaze became burning for a second before emotion shut off entirely and he stormed off without a word which, had anyone been paying any proper attention to anything other than their own irritation, was very unusual and also worrying coming from Daniel. Dylan, as it turns out, had been paying attention and was looking at the door Daniel had disappeared behind with concerned eyes. He then looked at the others sitting around the table and wondered how he'd let the situation get so bad without noticing.

He got up, leaving his plate of eggs, which he felt quite bad about considering how hard Daniel had worked to make them, in favour of following Daniel. "Oh yeah, that's it go follow your favourite. You don't even give enough shits to look up from your laptop until it comes to Danny." Dylan didn't register which of them had said it but it hit home and opened his eyes to how closed they had been. The group was falling apart which was ridiculous because they were all closer than ever and at a high as far as their career as magicians went. One thing he was sure of was that something had to change and now.


	2. Eggs

"Hey, can I come in?" Dylan asked Daniel's locked bedroom door. There was a shuffling inside as if Daniel was debating whether or not he wanted to comply or continue his solitude. Dylan let out a relieved breath as the door opened, he was starting to worry about the younger man and didn't think it would be a good idea to let him disappear again.

"Come in, I guess." Daniel said, his tone not cutting just tired, Dylan silently complied. Daniel perched on the end of his bed, looking up at Dylan expectantly. The older sighed "I just came to talk and see you're okay and, I don't know, hang out?" He said, flashing Daniel a lopsided smile which he returned with a small curl of his lips. 

"Okay..." Danny sighed, looking down at his hands which were fidgeting "I'm sorry." Dylan frowned in surprise "Why? What for?" Daniel fidgeted more, eyes glued downward "For everything. I'm annoying and a dick, I'm always fussing and making people annoyed. I'm mean and I chase everyone away who gets even minorly close to me. The horsemen are amazing and the best friends, the closest family and I've messed it up by being here, they're fighting and falling apart just because I'm to selfish to leave this behind."

Dylan was taken aback by the honesty and self-directed bitterness in the monologue, also by the uncharacteristic way of him talking about his true feelings. If that wasn't a sign he was really hurting then nothing was. Danny... That's not true, none of it." When the younger only scoffed Dylan sat beside him, tilting Daniel's chin up gently when he wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Daniel, trust me none of that is true at all. You're not annoying or a dick, you're kind and sweet. Your fussing isn't a bad thing it shows you care and it's not because of you everyone's annoyed it's because we aren't used to a normal domestic life after all we've been through. You haven't chased us away and you haven't messed anything up, you're our family and best friend just as much as any of the others. You'll see, those lot will probably be starting to feel very guilty about now and they'll be apologising to you in no time."

Daniel let out an exhausted sigh "I guess." His tone told Dylan he definitely didn't believe his words but at least he had heard his opinion, it was a start. "You can lie down, you look exhausted." Dylan encouraged, noting the bags under Daniel's eyes and the deflated look of his entire posture. At first that was received by an indignant glare but Daniel complied, unable to ignore how tired he'd suddenly become. He lay back, not getting into the sheets because that was definitely too far for him to indulge in "Thank you." Dylan smiled in response.

"So... Do you want to talk about the eggs?" Daniel scowled slightly "Why? Are they a big deal?" He asked, slightly defensively. Dylan looked on patiently "No, of course not. I'm just starting conversation and I thought you might want to talk about it, you seemed a bit..." "Frustrated?"  
"Upset."  
"Oh..." Daniel bit his lip, playing with he edge of his duvet "I didn't mean to make everyone angry. I just couldn't give the first ones."  
"Why not?"  
"Because they weren't cooked properly and if I gave them then everyone would get food poisoning from salmonella and throw up and get really sick, you can die from that you know. And it'd be because I was too lazy to make new eggs."  
"I see. What about the second ones?"  
"They were over cooked because I was trying to make sure they weren't under cooked. I didn't want everyone to have to have burnt eggs because I was stupid."

Dylan nodded "And why do you make food for everyone every day?" Daniel blinked in response "Well, who else will? I mean... It's my job. I've always... I'm supposed to... I just have to, okay?" Dylan nodded again "Would you be opposed to help though? I've heard food turns out best when it's been made by more people, and cooking is more fun when it's done together."

When Daniel looked sceptical Dylan added "And I've always been a bit of a cooking enthusiast. I've been meaning to learn more, will you teach me?" This elicited nodding from the younger "Yes, I'd love to." Dylan smiled at him and he smiled back, much to Dylan's delight. He loved that each time he did that Daniel's smile got a little more confident and real.

"Speaking of cooking, should I bring some of those eggs for you and I to eat here?" Whether it was the thought of eating on the bed or eating in general something made Daniel look apprehensive about the idea. Dylan squeezed his leg comfortingly, hoping he wasn't crossing some sort of boundary by making physical contact. Daniel seemed surprised by it but not unpleasantly and relaxed slightly again which made Dylan smile "Trust me it's gonna be fine. I'll go get them, I'll be back, okay?"

With that, Dylan got up and left, closing the door gently behind him, chuckling to himself at how cute a tired Danny looked snuggled up in bed, as he walked down to the kitchen. As he had suspected all three of the other horsemen were looking immensely guilty and subdued, shooting occasional looks in the direction Daniel had disappeared in. Dylan opted to stay quiet, nodding a greeting to them.

He walked into the kitchen area where he started to dish egg, still warm too, into two plates. Merritt passed him two fleshly made pieces of toast, probably his way of apologising which Dylan gave him a small smile and 'thank you' for. He took the two plates out, starting to make his way back to Daniel's room. "Oh good, he's eating." Lula said with relief "Tell them thanks for the eggs and they were really nice." "I will." Dylan smiled. His eyes flickered to Jack who was staring silently at Daniel's door, as if musing over whether to go to him.

He walked up the stairs to Daniel's bedroom, taking a sheet from his own on the way. "Danny, it's me." He knocked on the door which opened soon after. Daniel smiled up at him and stepped aside to let Dylan in. "Eat, Daniel. I've tried some, it's really nice, Lula thinks so too. Oh and the toast is courtesy of Merritt, I told you they'd all want to apologise. They probably will when you next show your face." Daniel's face darkened slightly, probably thinking about the fight, what he'd said about himself earlier and whether or not the others really intended to apologise if Dylan's readings of his body language were correct.

"Of course, I think maybe it's best for you to just stay in here a while. You look exhausted, physically and mentally. You need to stop taking on so much responsibility and allow yourself a break, Daniel, this isn't healthy." Dylan signed and lay out the sheet he had brought on Daniel's bed so I would catch any crumbs they dropped "Here. I don't want to get your room dirty."  
"Thanks, Dylan, I appreciate all the thought."  
The silent 'I don't understand why you're doing this for me and I don't deserve such nice treatment' was obvious to Dylan who had become accustom to reading all the things Daniel refused to say. He shook his head to himself, he really had to do something about Daniel's self depreciation issues.

Dylan frowned when he noticed Daniel was perched on the edge of his bed, pushing food around his plate instead of eating it. "Danny, you need food. I don't know when the last time I saw you eat was, you're getting way too skinny." When he still made no move to eat Dylan's frown deepened. He sat net to Daniel on the bed and took a fork of egg, holding it up to the younger man's mouth who looked up at him incredulously. Dylan shrugged in response "You need to eat, Danny, c'mon open up."

A cute little blush started to form on his cheeks but Daniel opened his mouth nonetheless. "Good boy." Dylan couldn't help but say, half teasing as he fed Daniel the first fork of food. He waited for Daniel to chew and swallow that much before feeding him the next, relieved to finally see Daniel eat. He was sure that if Daniel went on much longer as he had been he would collapse.

Daniel himself felt a strange but not unpleasant feeling or not quite feeling more like vague echoes of a forming feeling that disappeared before it properly appeared. From the way Dylan seemed to actually care and do little things for Daniel's comfort like bring the sheet and also the way he was feeding him which seemed to amplify that he cared and he could be trusted, and the way he said 'good boy'. It was a strange thing to appreciate but he wasn't often complimented for little things, in fact Daniel didn't know if he had ever been called a 'good boy' in his life. But this was also a very evident loss of control for him, to not even eat by himself, it made his stomach flip and feel weird and some alarm protesting in his brain but surprisingly that was a lot easier to ignore than it normally was. Maybe it was because he trusted Dylan completely or maybe it was because being fed eggs wasn't the end of the world by a long shot. Either way it was strange. Still, it hardly mattered dissecting his feelings on the subject. It was not like anything of the sort was going to happen again.


	3. Sleep

Daniel ate about half the plate without making much of a fuss but after that Dylan soon stopped, noting the less than enthusiastic way he regarded each forkful. He of course knew that Daniel hadn't been eating properly, it is only to be expected that his appetite wouldn't be as large as was healthy. Dylan would have to work on his eating habits, he wasn't going to let his friend get himself sick.

The room ascended into a silence, although not an uncomfortable one. Daniel was blushing softly looking at his hands, no doubt embarrassed about being fed like a child. Dylan was sitting, watching Daniel who was looking a more and more close to sleep every second 

"You should sleep, Danny, there's only so long you can go with just lying down as a break then getting back up again. You look exhausted as I've already said." Daniel in turn looked scandalised  
"It's ten in the morning!"  
"Yeah, well I'll bet my escape proof hand cuffs you didn't sleep a wink last night."  
"...It's still ten in the morning."  
"Yes, well the time of day dictating your sleep schedule doesn't apply when you've been up for forty nine hours straight."  
"Forty nine hours and twenty two minutes." Daniel said, defeat evident from his tone and the fact he was correcting him as a small personal victory.  
"My point exactly. Now lie down and try to sleep before that becomes twenty three."

Dylan managed to coax Daniel into bed who begrudgingly complied, curling up under the fluffy duvet. "Do you want me to go?" Dylan asked, starting to get up. A slender hand abruptly grabbed his wrist, stopping his departure. Dylan turned to look at Daniel who's eyes were downcast, probably not comfortable with showing emotion or vulnerability. "You can stay. That is, you don't have to go for my benefit or anything." He shrugged easily.

Dylan couldn't help but chuckle to himself and sat down on a chair beside the bed. "Feel free to use anything you find in here." Daniel murmured tiredly. "It's forty nine hours twenty four minutes, Danny, quick." Dylan chided warmly. Daniel made a small huffing noise before his eyes fluttered closed, his overworked body clearly relieved to have a break and embracing sleep happily. Dylan smiled softly before carefully taking a book from Danny's shelf and starting to read.  
******  
Daniel woke up slowly. Normally he was slow to sleep and quick to wake but apparently his body had been more exhausted than he had thought and he had slept very deeply that night... day. As the morning's events slowly came back to him, Daniel groaned to himself. The guilt and self hatred from the fight at breakfast settled in his chest like some sort of fog or veil but his more urgent attentions were directed at Dylan.

He cursed himself for letting his guard down like that. Being tired was no excuse for letting his guard down, complaining about his feelings, allowing someone to feed him like a child and then forcing Dylan to stay in his room while he slept. Daniel would have let out a growl of frustration had it not been for the fact he didn't know if Dylan was or wasn't still there.

Danny opened his eyes, sure enough seeing Dylan's form sitting on a chair right in front of him. "Morning, sleeping beauty." Dylan smiled when he noticed Daniel was awake "Or, well, 'night' more like. You slept right through the day, it's now eleven thirty. Hey don't look like that, it's a good thing. You would have collapsed if you were awake much longer, your body had pretty much no energy left."

Daniel sighed, drumming his fingers over his knuckles and looking down "I'm sorry." He said finally. Dylan let out a half exasperated half concerned breath "What for now?" Daniel let his lips twitch up in a would be smile at the realisation that this was the second time he was apologising in such a manner when usually he barely even let the words cross his mind. He was just having a bad day, that was all.

"I'm sorry for earlier, I get weird when I'm tired sometimes, it won't happen again." Dylan's frown had returned "Well I hope it does, it's better than you hiding away and bottling things up. And I still don't see what there is to apologise for or what exactly you are apologising for. For telling me what you're feeling? For eating? For sleeping?"

Daniel huffed "No it's not... Forget it." He swung his legs around and sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. "Have you been here this whole time?" Daniel asked, getting up and pulling a nightgown on over the loose, worn clothes he was wearing.

"Kinda, I went down to put our plates in the kitchen then I washed them. I also went back down for lunch, which was sandwiches by the way. I skipped dinner though, wasn't hungry at the time. Other than that I've been in here. It's a lot more peaceful, maybe it's the silence or the atmosphere I don't know. I got some work done and I read one of your books. 'Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy' good taste." He gave Daniel a warm smile that made his stomach flip but in a pleasant way and he couldn't resist sending a small smile back.

He tried to push down the anxiety that had started to blossom thinking of the fact that he hadn't been able to do the washing and hadn't even made lunch or dinner. And how someone might have gotten lazy and not properly washed or rinsed some bit of the washing and some bacteria could be festering in some stagnant water on a fork that would later go in someone's mouth who would get ill and pass it on to everyone else and it would all be his fault because he was too lazy to go and wash the dishes himself like he was supposed to. Or how something may have bern undercooked or how a kitchen appliance could become dangerous and set fire to the house. Daniel started to tug on his sleeves methodically, deciding to concentrate on Dylan's smile instead of that.

"Why don't we both go downstairs? Give our legs a stretch. The others have gone to bed already so we should be alone." Daniel felt bad for feeling relief at hearing that. He loved his friends of course but he didn't think he was up to seeing them just yet. All he could think of when they were around being perfect was how imperfect he was and how he didn't fit, he wasn't contributing anything, he was just making things worse and he should leave. He was so weak that their words at breakfast had made these thoughts even more prominent. But yes, downstairs did sound like a good idea.

Daniel curled up in the corner of the sofa, it was the beginning of winter and starting to get cold in the evenings. He hated that his body was still urging him to close his eyes and sleep despite the fact he had just woken up, how lazy was he?

Dylan chucked him a blanket "Use that, it's quite cold in here. I'll turn on the heating." He did so before coming and sitting on the sofa next to Daniel. "So, did you have a good sleep?"  
"Yes, I can't believe I wasted a whole day like that."  
"It wasn't a waste, you were sleeping."  
"That much sleep is excessive."  
"Not when you're awake for over two days non stop. If you want to sleep for a shorter length of time then do it once every night instead of when your body can't take any more."  
"You're being dramatic, I was fine."  
"Isn't being dramatic what being a magician is about? But no, in this case I'm not. You really were that bad. A bit better now but not completely. You have to take better care of yourself, Daniel."

Dylan's weird complicated gaze was rested on Daniel, eyes filled with concern, care, compassion and other stuff Daniel couldn't explain. He looked down at his hands, it would be so easy for him to just brush Dylan of but it was Dylan, for some reason he just couldn't bring himself to lie to him. "I make no promises." He snarked casually. Dylan's worried look in response made his stomach clench.

Dylan hummed, deciding to change he subject "You've missed two meals and I've missed one I think we should have something." Daniel made a noncommittal noise in response. "Don't worry I'm not suggesting a full meal or anything, it is the middle of the night. But still, it's important to look after yourself. I have some meal replacement drinks, does that sound okay?"

At Daniel's questioning looked Dylan chuckled and explained "A habit from my FBI days. So I would still get food in me when I was busy with something, getting light headed and passing out is never useful or fun." Daniel nodded "Okay, sounds fine."

Dylan got up and went to the kitchen, opening a draw and grabbing some bottles out of it, pouring he contents into two cups and heating them. He then poured one of the glasses back into the bottle and handed it to Daniel who frowned but Dylan explained before he could say anything "Easier to drink lying down this way and less likely to spill. You look about ready to pass out again." Daniel looked silently indignant but was too tired, although he wasn't happy about that, to protest.

He started to drink the drink, it tasted like chocolate milk and was soothingly warm. His eyelids started to get heavy followed by his entire body which slowly started to droop side wards as he finally gave way to the tiredness that had not gone away even with he sleep. By the time his head reached Dylan's lap his thoughts were already too fogged by sleep to care.

Dylan looked down at the almost-sleeping form on his lap. He felt a surprising warm, possessive feeling as he looked at Daniel, who was apparently very cute and cuddly when he slept. Dylan gently stroked the younger man's back, hoping to soothe him into a peaceful and restful sleep.


	4. Soothing warmth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for everyone who has read and left Kudos! Hope you're enjoying my story :3 Sorry this is such a bad note I'm just having a bad day. Also special thanks the commenter your encouragement made me decide to finish and publish this chapter. Enjoy :3

When Daniel woke up he was confused, admittedly, about where he was , why he was there and what had happened. However, he didn't care much to get the answers for he had a very strong feeling of contentment and relaxation that filled his whole body comfortably and made him want to smile about nothing in particular and curl into the soothing warm thing that seemed to be enveloping him.

Speaking of which, that soothing warm thing appeared to be a main contributing factor to why he felt so good. It was just so warm and so soft yet strong and it smelt great and it was wrapping around him just right so that he felt completely peaceful. He snuggled closer, making a small whimpering sound. Sleep still had a veil over his mind and instead of becoming clearer his thoughts were slowly disappearing into the clasps of sleep again. Until, that was, the soothing warm thing started to move.

A lot surer this time, Daniel's consciousness was regained. He could hear a mildly pained moan and bones cracking. The warm thing that had been covering him left leaving only the part under his head remaining. Daniel opened his eyes and looked up.

"D-" his own yawn cut him off and he scowled to himself, blinking off sleep "Dylan?" Said man looked down, looking just as groggy as he was. As his thoughts became clearer Daniel's eyes widened as he muttered curses under his breath, his cheeks heating with embarrassment "Dylan... I fell asleep on you! I'm sorry, I-" Dylan waved him off "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep on/under you. I was gonna carry you upstairs to your room but I decided to leave it a while and then I got tired and fell asleep too. Long day, long week really. And you're so... warm and cuddly."

Daniel blushed at that, not sure whether to take it as a compliment or an insult although he was sure Dylan had only meant it as a statement. Still, he could unexplainably feel a pleased warmth at Dylan describing him as such.

Instead of voicing this Daniel sat up, realising he was still on Dylan's lap. He brushed a hand over himself as if to straiten his clothes up and cleared his throat "So, what time is it?" He asked. Dylan checked his watch "Four forty AM. You still tired?" Daniel shook his head honestly. He thought if he had a single minute more sleep his muscles might forget how to function and melt into the mattress instead.

Dylan nodded "Me neither. Is there anything you particularly want to do?" Daniel considered this for a moment before shaking his head. Then thoughts of how embarrassingly pathetic he had been acting recently started to fill his head and he cleared his throat, sitting up straighter and brushing himself off once again. "Well, actually I should probably go to my room and get some work done since I've been wasting so much time and-" 

Dylan rolled his eyes although warmth was evident from his expression and smile, he quickly cut Daniel off "Danny, none of us have any work to do and you know it. You know what, I think after all this laying around I would like to go on a walk to stretch my legs. I think it'd do you good too, and we haven't properly explored the grounds of this place yet."  
Daniel looked slightly anxious "But what if-"  
"We are safe here, Daniel, this is private property and even then very secluded. No police officer or FBI or journalist is gonna be lurking behind a tree. Also it's four in the morning, I doubt many people would be up let alone out."

Daniel looked still slightly sceptical but unable to find anything to flaw this by he nodded "Okay then, walk in the grounds. That sounds good." Dylan flashed him a grin and got up with an energy that definitely didn't suggest he'd just spent hours sleeping on a sofa. Daniel envied him, as he stood slowly, head spinning and bones cracking. He was supposed to be the young one! Not that anyone ever viewed him as such though.

Danny wandered to where Dylan was putting on his shoes and did the same. Daniel reached out for his coat by Dylan stopped him "No way, you're not wearing that thing, it's freezing!"  
"It's my winter coat."  
"That's a fashion accessory not a coat, the only thing it'll shield you from is the sun. I know how grumpy you get when you have a cold. Here, take this." Dylan said, chucking Daniel a thick grey-black coat.

He pulled it on and found it was warm and comforting in a way that was reminiscent of how he felt when he'd woken up, the coat even smelled like Dylan which was soothing. He didn't know why he found that soothing, it was probably creepy of him, and he probably wouldn't like it if he did know. But it didn't change the fact that he did find it soothing.

The coat was about a size too big, maybe two, and it hung around his admittedly lean frame loosely. It was not uncomfortable though, it was kind of like when it's cold so you wrap a duvet around yourself and walk around like that. But he did imagine he looked ridiculous, like a child playing dress ups in Daddy's clothes. He never did such things as a child of course but it's what he probably looked like.

"There, isn't that better?" Dylan smiled, slightly teasingly.  
Daniel scowled in response, also teasing "No, I look wrapped up like a sushi and as poofy as a a marshmallow."  
"I agree, you do look good enough to eat." Dylan teased playfully, causing Daniel to blush and refrain from responding for fear of stammering. Dylan just chuckled and took Daniel's hand, leading him out into the night.

Normally Daniel was afraid of the dark. That, of all fears, was a very natural one. It wasn't the dark it's people were scared of, of course, it was what could be concealed and that was a natural human instinct to protect themselves. It was also a very logical fear. However, walking outside then Daniel was not afraid of being mugged or some rabid animal attacking him. He simply couldn't imagine anything bad happening, not with Dylan's body heat radiating through he cold air to him. Instead, he admired he beauty of it all that he seldom appreciated.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Dylan smiled, as if reading his mind, which knowing Dylan he may be close to doing he most likely knew quite a lot about mentalism and all other areas of magic. Daniel nodded "Yeah, it is. I didn't really notice on the way in."  
"I think it's even more atmospheric in the moonlight."  
"Yeah, it's very clear tonight. Of course no cloud cover makes it colder but it means a nice view of the stars."

It was true, the sky was dotted with stars. The more you looked at them the more your eyes would adjust and the more they adjusted the more stars you could see, it was mesmerising.

The pair walked in a comfortable silence, simply taking in the scenery and letting the frosty bite of the wind glad their muscles back into action. Daniel couldn't remember the last time he had done something so... 'stop and smell the roses'. He didn't even remember he last time he had desired to do such a thing. Doing things, lots of useful things and fast, was more his style. But actually this was very nice and calming, therapeutic even.

"You're amazing, Daniel, you know that right?"  
The sudden break in the silence was so unexpected Daniel took a moment to actually process the words. When he did he blushed and felt a whole ocean of contradictions bubbling in his mind. "Um, well, thanks? I'm really not."  
"No, but you are! I mean it, and I'm saying it because I don't think you know it."  
"I'm not amazing."  
"See? That's what I mean. I think it's sad that you don't know it because since you're so amazing you deserve to feel like it too."  
"Well, thanks. Amazing meaning what, anyway?"  
"Amazing meaning just generally amazing. Your personality, your mannerism, your thoughts, your looks, just everything about you is perfect."  
Daniel was caught torn somewhere between being incredibly embarrassed and uncomfortable and very pleased that Dylan would think such a thing about him, even if it was wrong.

Dylan just smiled chuckled and shook his head "Never mind, though, just wanted to say it so you know what I think. After all, we need people like me who adore you to compensate for your lack of self appreciation. Nothing needs to be said, it was just a statement." Once again Daniel nodded, unable to string together a coherent let alone intelligent response.

He silence resumed as they walked, although this time Danny could hardly pay attention to his environment, his thoughts were buzzing to loudly. And he felt less cold due to his burning cheeks but also a unnamable warmth radiating from within him.


End file.
